


On Your Skin

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: And they're all idiots, Angst, First Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Internet Friends AU, Keith and Lance are soulmates, Living in Denial, M/M, Modern Day, Pidge and Keith are nerds for cryptids and conspiracy theories, Pining, Possibly Mutual Pining, Romantic Revelations, Shiro and Adam are soulmates, Soulmate AU, allura is an heiress, group chat au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-05-07 18:48:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19215376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: in which keith & lance are soulmates, but don't know it yet, shiro is a marathon running star, allura is an heiress, hunk is studying culinary arts, pidge & keith believe in conspiracy theories, and everyone bonds over memes.





	1. The Oklahoma Octopus

### Today at 9:17 PM

_[ justApidgeon has started a group chat ]_  
_[ justApidgeon has named the group chat ‘free shavacado 2.0’ ]_

**AlluraAltea, Hunk2000, lancelot, AKeith, and TakashiShirogane have been added to the group chat**

**justApidgeon** : set your own nicknames

**justApidgeon** : i dont want to

**lancelot** : pfft lazy

**justApidgeon** : shut up the old ones werent that great anyway

 

_[ justApidgeon has changed their name to ‘o shit waddup’ ]_

 

**o shit waddup** : hunk dont disappoint me

 

_[ Hunk2000 has changed their name to ‘here comes dat boi’ ]_  
_[ AlluraAltea has changed their name to ‘allululura’ ]_

 

**o shit waddup** : HELL YEAH

 

_[ lancelot has changed their name to ‘Starboy ★’]_  
_[ AKeith has changed their name to ‘the mothman ]_

 

**allululura** : Lance thats the most extra name

**o shit waddup** : did u expect something different from him? 

**Starboy ★** : are you kidding? we’re gonna ignore mothman over there? d u m b

**the mothman** : how dare you

**o shit waddup** : NEVER insult mothman in my presence again

**o shit waddup** : he’ll know. he’ll eat you.

**here comes dat boi** : he’d get indigestion 

**Starboy ★** : whatever N E R D S

**TakashiShirogane** : Someone give me a nickname.

**o shit waddup** : keith u know what to do

**o shit waddup** : dont let me D O W N kogane

 

_[ the mothman has changed TakashiShirogane’s name to ‘the Winter Soldier’ ]_

 

**o shit waddup** : Y E S

**the Winter Soldier** : I don’t know what I expected.

**allululura** : You brought this on yourself.

**here comes dat boi** : you literally asked for it shiro

**the Winter Soldier** : I don’t know why I ask you children for anything.

**allululura** : Did you just

**here comes dat boi** : call us children?

**the mothman** : h o w

**o shit waddup** : D A R E

**the Winter Soldier** : Okay, first of all, Pidge, you’re literally a child

**the Winter Soldier** : Second of all, I’m the oldest by a longshot, making the rest of you children by default.

**Starboy ★** : i for one welcome my new father figure.

 

_[ o shit waddup has renamed the chat to ‘shiro and his five kids’ ]_

 

**the mothman** : pidge n o

**the Winter Soldier** : What did I do to you people?

**allululura** : I don't know how to feel about this

**Starboy ★** : does adam know about his five new children

**the Winter Soldier** : No.

**o shit waddup** : WEVE BEEN ABANDONED

**here comes dat boi** : this chat has existed for two minutes and we’ve already been abandoned by our second father

**Starboy ★** : this is so sad

**o shit waddup** : alexa play despacito

**allululura** : this is very tragic, but sorry kiddos, i have to go

**allululura** : duty calls

 

_[ allululura has left the chat ]_

 

**the mothman** : im gonna go too

**the mothman** : gonna raid the fridge before shiro can get home & stop me

**the Winter Soldier** : That's what you do when I’m at practice?

**the mothman** : obviously 

 

_[ the mothman has left the chat ]_

 

**the Winter Soldier** : Of course

**the Winter Soldier** : I need to hurry up and leave before he eats us out of house and home.

**the Winter Soldier** : Behave yourselves children

 

_[ the Winter Soldier has left the chat ]_

 

**o shit waddup** : we’re droppin like FLIES

**Starboy ★** : speaking of food though

**Starboy ★** : who wants to order a pizza

**o shit waddup** : IM DOWN

**here comes dat boi** : we already ate dinner??

**o shit waddup** : THATS NOT THE POINT

**Starboy ★** : p i z z a, hunk

**Starboy ★** : its literally ALWAYS a good idea

**here comes dat boi** : i cant argue

**here comes dat boi** : fine. ill order the usual

**o shit waddup** : HELL YEAHHH

 

_[ here comes dat boi has left the chat ]_  
_[ Starboy ★ has left the chat ]_  
_[ o shit waddup has left the chat ]_

### Today at 11:28 PM

_[ o shit waddup and the mothman have joined the chat ]_

 

**o shit waddup** : K E I T H

**o shit waddup** : LOST TAPES IS BACK ON NETFLIX

**the mothman** : WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN

**o shit waddup** : TODAY SON

**o shit waddup** : WERE GONNA RABBIT IT

**o shit waddup** : YOU HAVE NO CHOICE

 

_[ Starboy ★ has joined the chat ]_

 

**Starboy ★** : oh god are you nerding out again

**o shit waddup** : lance dont make me come out there, i’ll break ur kneecaps

**Starboy ★** : i could straight up drop kick you

**the mothman** : good luck doing that without kneecaps

**Starboy ★** : w h a t e v e r 

**o shit waddup** : well id invite u over to rabbit with us but im assuming youre still intent on being a loser forever

**Starboy ★** : first of all, rude

**Starboy ★** : second of all, no i dont wanna watch your dumb fake cryptid stuff

**the mothman** : B

**o shit waddup** : I

**the mothman** : T

**o shit waddup** : C

**the mothman** : H

**o shit waddup** : i cant believe whoever ur soulmate is has to live with someone who doesn't believe in the loch ness monster

**Starboy ★** : uhh i’ll have you knpw that my soulmate will be the luckiest person on esrth

**the mothman** : not if you keep spelling like that

**Starboy ★** : shut up im tuping withh one hsnd i have a fsce mask on tje other one

**the mothman** : this is beyond painful

**o shit waddup** : maybe dont join the gc in the middle of ur high maintenance skin routine?

**the mothman** : tbh I feel bad for ur poor soulmate having to put up with the mountain of facial cleansers & creams on ur half of the sink

**Starboy ★** : HOW DARE

**the mothman** : oh shit

**the mothman** : pidge start up rabbit i gotta go ill be back in like ten minutes

 

_[ the mothman has left the chat ]_

 

**o shit waddup** : oof

**o shit waddup** : maybe the mothman got him

**Starboy ★** : you know what i hope he DID

**Starboy ★** : i’m so o f f e n d e d

**o shit waddup** : literally how can u be offended when i’ve never been mean in my entire life. Cant speak for keith but im an ANGEL

**o shit waddup** : oooooooh is this about your hopeless pining thing

**o shit waddup** : ur a nerd. 

**Starboy ★** : i’m not a nerd.

**o shit waddup** : ur a nerd. get over it.

**o shit waddup** : u just gotta give it time man. youre still young, ur soulmate probably is too, maybe whoever it is just doesn't wanna commit yet

**Starboy ★** : i dont even know their name??

**o shit waddup** : i mean, keith doesn't know much about his soulmate either. neither do i

**Starboy ★** : oh good i'm on the same level as you and keith

**o shit waddup** : WERE HAVING A MOMENT CAN YOU P L E A S E

**Starboy ★** : i’ve never taken anything seriously, in my life.

**Starboy ★** : frankly i’m offended you would assume otherwise.

**o shit waddup** : i physically hate you

**o shit waddup** : im going to fling you into the sun

**o shit waddup** : LANCE TURN SHAKIRA OFF

**o shit waddup** : IM TRYING TO WATCH SOMETHING DOWN HERE

**Starboy ★** : HIPS DONT LIE PIDGE

**o shit waddup** : say goodbye to your kneecaps BITCH

 

_[ o shit waddup has left the chat ]_  
_[ Starboy ★ has left the chat ]_

### Today at 11:47 PM

_[ o shit waddup and the mothman have joined the chat ]_

 

**the mothman** : sorry 

**the mothman** : you got rabbit loaded up

**o shit waddup** : yeah ill invite you, one sec

**o shit waddup** : may as well call you too, easier to freak out that way without worrying about the keyboard

 

_[ o shit waddup has left the chat ]_  
_[ the mothman has left the chat ]_

 

Pidge really did work quickly.

Within seconds of exiting the group chat, Keith’s laptop dinged and his phone started ringing. He wasn't sure which one to scramble for first, but his hand went for the phone instinctively, thumb hitting the call button and then the speaker phone before he unceremoniously lunged halfway across the bed for his laptop.

“Alright Kogane,” Pidge started before Keith could even settle back against the pillow leaning against the wall. “I was thinking we could start with the Oklahoma Octopus episode, then Skinwalker, and obviously the Mothman.”

“God that stupid octopus,” Keith groaned as he entered the rabbit group, but he didn't give a clear ‘no,’ so Pidge just snickered like a gremlin in response. “Fine, fine, but we have to watch the Mongolian Deathworm episode too.”

“Of course,” Pidge conceded, clicking away on their own laptop to get their first episode up on the screen. While they worked on that, the two of them sat in comfortable silence. 

Keith listened intently to the quietness of the phone call, sure he could hear something else in the background. He couldn't quite make it out, but there was something there- either that, or he was going insane. 

“Pidge? What the hell is that sound in the background? It’s driving me insane,” Keith finally asked, sure that it would bother him for the rest of the phone call.

“Oh, you can hear that?” Pidge huffed, muttering something unintelligible. “Lance is listening to Shakira. He was blasting it earlier, this was as quiet as I could convince him to play it.”

“Of course,” Keith sighed, though he was amused. 

There were some shifting sounds and Pidge clearing their throat, and a few more miscellaneous clicks. Finally the screen changed and the Oklahoma Octopus episode pulled up, the loading counter spinning in the center of the screen.

Before the series has been taken off of Netflix, Pidge had watched this specific episode so many times that Keith was sure they had the script memorized. Then again, the same could be said about him and the Mothman episode- or both of them and the Skinwalker episode. 

As the episode started, Keith heard a cracking sound that made him jump a bit, followed by some fizzy carbonation. 

“Pidge, that better not be another orange Fanta,” Keith joked, and the silence that followed was more than enough of an answer- especially when it was broken by a loud slurp. “Oh my god,” he laughed, exasperated by Pidge’s soda drinking habits. 

They once again fell back into comfortable silence until the episode started to pick up on the drama. Even though they had both seen this episode a million times, they acted like it was the first time they had seen it. Whooping and hollering everytime the monster appeared, despite it being late and Shiro eventually yelling down the hall for Keith to quiet down. The two of them just snickered, but he did attempt to keep his celebrations to a lower volume.

After a little while of watching the episode like that, Keith started finding it hard to focus, and he reached across his bed for the marker bag on his nightstand. 

He had only just started to unzip it when Pidge spoke up. “Is that The Sharpie Bag I hear?” They spoke about it like it was a real proper thing, their voice dramatic and nearly accusatory. Keith was a little bit notorious in his household for drawing on his arms and his notebooks and napkins all the time, and while Pidge had only seen one or two examples of his little doodles and pieces of art, they knew well enough what the Sharpie Bag sounded like.

Keith chuckled and finished unzipping the little fabric container, removing a black fine tipped inking pen and pulling the cap off. “It might be.”

The whole soulmate thing had never stopped him from drawing on his skin, not even when he was little and his soulmate would draw all around his own designs and irritate him, interrupting his sketchy black lines with bright colors and swirly designs. Lately though, he (Keith assumed his soulmate was a ‘he,’ otherwise it would be very awkward) hadn't been doing that- occasionally he would write little non-invasive notes, or doodle planets and stars and clip-art style lightning bolts, but that was about it. Not that Keith was concerned or offended- he had made it relatively clear how he felt about the whole soulmate thing, so it was partly (if not totally) Keith’s fault that they had been living in relative non-communication for a few years now.

Keith didn't… like feeling that kind of connection to someone. It made him anxious- if he was made specifically for one person, then he figured he had to be perfect for that person, and Keith was far from perfect. So he just wasn't ready- not yet, anyway, and he wasn't sure when he would be. He didn't even want to know his soulmates name, and he didn't want to share his either. He didn't want to spend any amount of time thinking or daydreaming about that name and what he might be like, like some kind of schoolgirl or the protagonist in a cheesy romance novel.

As engrossed as Keith usually was in these kinds of shows- anything that had to do with cryptids or aliens or conspiracy theories, which was what he and Pidge had bonded over originally- he found himself focusing more on the lines he was making on his arm and less on the cheesy dialogue and special effects. 

“God, finally Lance turned his music off,” Pidge muttered, but it sounded like a far-off statement- they were clearly focused on the show. Keith wasn’t surprised, out of all of them, this stupid octopus episode might have been their favorite.

Keith paused to listen, and sure enough, the music in the background was gone; he chuckled at Pidge’s bored tone, and then refocused on his doodle. It was, apparently, taking shape in the form of an eye. Keith had a very specific style to his doodles- lots of quick lines, lots of crosshatching and weird shading. It was specific, kind of messy, but controlled. Ordered chaos, as Shiro liked to call it. 

Part of him wondered if his soulmate got annoyed with his constant weird doodles and drawings. He would never know, he supposed- or maybe not never. Just not for awhile. He had no idea when. He had no idea about any of this, really.

And he definitely had no idea that miles away, a boy had turned his music off to sit in his room in silence, completely enraptured by the little black drawing inking its way onto his forearm.


	2. The Mascot Dog(TM)

### Today at 9:15 AM

_[ o shit waddup and the Winter Soldier have joined the chat ]_

 

**the Winter Soldier** : You're up before 12PM? Good job Pidge

**o shit waddup** : i have a meeting with an academic advisor

**o shit waddup** : also, literally shut up

**the Winter Soldier** : What's the meeting for?

**o shit waddup** : its just a mandatory freshman thing. kinda like an accountability meeting

**the Winter Soldier** : Right. Sounds fun.

**o shit waddup** : and why are u up at this ungodly time

**the Winter Soldier** : How is this an ungodly time?

**o shit waddup** : my guy, lance wasnt even awake yet when i left

**o shit waddup** : now answer my question nerd

**the Winter Soldier** : Training. There's a marathon coming up.

**o shit waddup** : ugh running

**o shit waddup** : how do you do that

**o shit waddup** : like

**o shit waddup** : for a living

 

_[ the mothman has entered the chat ]_

 

**the mothman** : OH GOOD SHIRO YOURE HERE

**the mothman** : DONT BE MAD BUT

**the mothman** : IM BRINGING SOMETHING HOME

**the Winter Soldier** : I'm gonna need a better explanation. 

 

_the mothman has attached a photo_

 

**the Winter Soldier** : Keith, WHY do you have a puppy?

**o shit waddup** : HOLY S H I T

**o shit waddup** : LOOK AT ITS FACEEEEE

**the mothman** : he was in a box on the side of the road, I couldn't just leave him there

**the mothman** : i guess we can take him to a shelter later? but i mean come ON shiro

**the mothman** : look at his f a c e

**o shit waddup** : look at those baby blues

**the Winter Soldier** : He doesn't have a collar or tags or anything?

**the mothman** : no, he was literally just in a box on the side of the road

**the mothman** : had to zip him up into my jacket to bring him home on the bike

**o shit waddup** : i dub him our new group chat mascot

**the Winter Soldier** : Don't get attached, no one knows if he's going to be staying.

**o shit waddup** : but d a d

**the Winter Soldier** : I'm not a dad.

**the Winter Soldier** : Wait a second

**the Winter Soldier** : Keith, weren't you supposed to be going to work?

**o shit waddup** : uh oh

 

_[ the mothman has left the chat ]_

 

**the Winter Soldier** : For Christs sake

 

_[ the Winter Soldier has left the chat ]_

 

**o shit waddup** : just wait till lance sees that dog

**o shit waddup** : Mascot Dog™

 

_[ o shit waddup has left the chat ]_

### Today at 12:23 PM

_[ Starboy ★, allululura, and o shit waddup have entered the chat ]_

 

**o shit waddup** : BOTH OF YOU SCROLL UP

**o shit waddup** : DONT ASK QUESTIONS

**allululura** : Awww! what a cute puppy!

**Starboy ★** : oh

**Starboy ★** : my god

**allululura** : Someone left that poor thing on the side of the road?? poor babyyy

**Starboy ★** : someone remind me that murder is illegal

**o shit waddup** : i was just texting keith

**o shit waddup** : he got the pup home & gave him a bath

**o shit waddup** : he sent me a picture of him sleepin on his bed

 

_o shit waddup has attached a photo_

 

**allululura** : IM GONNA SCREAM

**Starboy ★** : i need live images iMMEDIATELY

**Starboy ★** : im calling him

 

_[ Starboy ★ has left the chat ]_

 

Keith nearly jumped out of his skin when the facetime ringing blared from his phone- he fished it out of his pocket as the puppy (who had previously been sleeping) lifted his head and yapped at him.

Lance's name stretched across his touchscreen, and Keith sighed before answering the facetime. Before he can get any words out, however, Lance's voice came so loudly from the phone that it started cracking.

"Keith show me the dog!"

"Jesus christ-" Keith exclaimed, glaring into the camera at the tan boy on his scream. "You woke him up."

Lance had a sheepish but not at all apologetic smile stretched across his face, and Keith sighed, giving him an exasperated look. "Fine, fine." He reached up to the corner of the screen to switch to the back camera, and his phone focused on the tiny mystery puppy half curled up on his bed.

Lance screeched.

"Christ, Lance," Keith shushed him, "control yourself!" The little ball of rusty brown fur on his bed raised its ears, tilting his head and looking thoroughly confused at the phone in Keith's hand.

"But he's so cuteeee!" Lance cooed, before gasping rather dramatically, "Oh, please tell me you're keeping him."

Keith sighed as he sat down on the bed, reaching out to run his fingers through the pups long fur. He shoved his head up into Keith's hand, and Keith was sure he would be purring if he had been a cat. "I don't know. I'm not the only one who lives here, you know. I can't just keep a dog if Adam and Shiro don't want one."

Lance whined, and even though Keith couldn't see his face, he could almost perfectly picture his pout. It was a very specific face that he made, and only in situations like this; pouty bottom lip, puppy-dog style ocean eyes, sad freckled face.

"We'll just have to see what happens," Keith added, oddly hopeful. He wasn't an optimistic person, but he found himself wondering what it would be like to keep the dog. Their apartment complex did allow pets, after all.

"Keith?" The front door on the opposite side of the apartment opened and closed, and Keith turned to look over his shoulder.

"Adam's home," he announced, turning the camera back around. Lance whined, annoyed at the loss of the puppy. "He went out to buy food for the pup. I gotta go," he said, "I'll send update pictures later."

"You better!" Lance groaned, "Don't deprive me of my son."

Keith made a face at him again. "He's not your son," he shook his head, ending the call before Lance could argue with him. He shoved his phone into his pocket, scooping the puppy up and hurrying out of his room and down the hall.

### Today at 4:11 PM

_[ o shit waddup, Starboy ★, the Winter Soldier, allululura, and here comes dat boi have joined the chat ]_

 

**allululura** : how's the marathon training?

**the Winter Soldier** : I think I could be faster, but I think it's going pretty well.

**allululura** : How long have you been training?

**the Winter Soldier** : About 14 week so far.

**o shit waddup** : damn son

**o shit waddup** : thats too long

**the Winter Soldier** : It's pretty common to start training anywhere between three or four months before the marathon

**here comes dat boi** : so its a full marathon, right?

**the Winter Soldier** : All 26.2 miles, yeah

**o shit waddup** : c h r i s t dad, how do u do it

**Starboy ★** : he's just better than you pidgeon

**o shit waddup** : how dare u

**allululura** : Hmmm

**here comes dat boi** : oh she's thinking

**o shit waddup** : oh lawd she's thinking

**allululura** : I was just thinking that none of us have ever seen Shiro compete

**allululura** : and I've never actually met you in real life

**o shit waddup** : o:

**o shit waddup** : is this going where i think its going

**allululura** : I mean, what better reason to all meet up than on Shiro's marathon?

**Starboy ★** : you mean

**Starboy ★** : i get to annoy keith

**Starboy ★** : AND see his dog

**Starboy ★** : in PERSON?

**here comes dat boi** : well lance's opinion is obvious i think

**o shit waddup** : im down!!

**o shit waddup** : guys itll be like a ROAD TRIP

**here comes dat boi** : because it would literally be a road trip for us

**here comes dat boi** : and i'll probably end up driving

**allululura** : when is your marathon?

**the Winter Soldier** : It's only like two weeks away

**the Winter Soldier** : If I remember right.

**allululura** : that seems like enough time to make plans right?

**here comes dat boi** : it should be?

**Starboy ★** : only one way to find out

**o shit waddup** : most of my homework is online anyway, so

**o shit waddup** : shouldnt be a problem for me

**the Winter Soldier** : You don't all need to come down just for my marathon

**the Winter Soldier** : I mean, what if I don't even place well?

**allululura** : first of all, shut up, you're a STAR

**allululura** : second of all, why not? its a good excuse for all of us to get together. and i'm the only one who would have to fly in

**allululura** : so its not that big of a deal.

**o shit waddup** : keith will be hyped

**o shit waddup** : about me, at least

**o shit waddup** : he might run for the hills once lance shows up

**Starboy ★** : you hurt me pidge

**Starboy ★** : youre almost as mean as mullet

**the Winter Soldier** : I'll send you guys the exact date of the marathon when I get home and can look at the calendar

**allululura** : does the day before the marathon sound like a good time to come down?

 

_[ the mothman has entered the chat ]_

 

**o shit waddup** : eyyyy

**o shit waddup** : guess what kogane

**Starboy ★** : i'm gonna steal your dog

**the mothman** : first of all, step off

**allululura** : Keith!

**the Winter Soldier** : You're late to the party making plans.

**the mothman** : what party

**here comes dat boi** : we planned on coming to watch Shiro in his marathon

**allululura** : So we're all coming to visit!!

**the mothman** : you're all coming here?

**here comes dat boi** : the closest hotel, anyway

**Starboy ★** : is your dog ready to meet his true father

**the mothman** : hes not your son lance

**Starboy ★** : this is kidnapping

**the Winter Soldier** : Children, please

**the Winter Soldier** : Behave, I have to go

 

_[ the Winter Soldier has left the chat ]_

 

**o shit waddup** : listen to ur father dweebs

**allululura** : so, if the three of you need me to, i can pay for a hotel room for you

**allululura** : or you can stay with me, pidge

**the mothman** : you could probably stay here too, watch some horror movies with me

**o shit waddup** : everyone wants me to stay with them

**o shit waddup** : am i

**o shit waddup** : f a m o u s?

**the mothman** : i take it back.

**Starboy ★** : pidge! you ruined your chance to steal the dog!

**the mothman** : stay away from my dog!

**allululura** : children!

**o shit waddup** : YOU MADE MOM MAD

**here comes dat boi** : bad children

**allululura** : always BICKERING

**allululura** : also, I'm not mom.

**o shit waddup** : if shiro isnt here, ur mom

**the mothman** : why do you keep naming people our parents

 

_[ o shit waddup has changed allululura's nickname to #Team Mom ]_

 

**#Team Mom** : PIDGE

**Starboy ★** : oh my GOD

**Starboy ★** : Shiro has been REPLACED

**#Team Mom** : im giving you all up for adoption

**o shit waddup** : MOM NO

**o shit waddup** : HOW WILL WE SURVIVE

**o shit waddup** : LANCE WONT HAVE ANYONE TO CUT THE CRUST OFF HIS SANDWICHES

**Starboy ★** : e x c u s e m e

**the mothman** : do you

**the mothman** : do you cut the crust off your sandwiches

**the mothman** : l a n c e

**Starboy ★** : AT LEAST I KNOW HOW TO GET A HAIRCUT

**the mothman** : im w h e e z i n g

**the mothman** : pidge i just want to thank you for blessing my life

**Starboy ★** : i hate all of you

**o shit waddup** : no u don't

**o shit waddup** : how could you, were all amazing

**o shit waddup** : mostly me

**#Team Mom** : rude??

**the mothman** : fjck gotra go

**the mothman** : dog

 

_[ the mothman has left the chat ]_

 

**o shit waddup** : did he just have a stroke

**Starboy ★** : lmao 'dog'

**o shit waddup** : i think he had a stroke

**#Team Mom** : i need to go too, kiddos. got a dinner to go to and a flight to book a ticket for.

**Starboy ★** : bye mommm

**#Team Mom** : oml

 

_[ #Team Mom has left the chat ]_

 

**here comes dat boi** : and then there were three

**o shit waddup** : is that

**o shit waddup** : food i smell

**here comes dat boi** : i told you i was cooking tonight

**Starboy ★** : race you downstairs pidgeon

**o shit waddup** : ur goin down mcclain

 

_[ Starboy ★ has left the chat ]_  
_[ o shit waddup has left the chat ]_  
_[ here comes dat boi has left the chat ]_

 

Turns out, Lance was faster than Pidge. No one was surprised by this.

Pidge did eat faster than him, though, but that wasn't exactly new either. Dinner wasn't anything fancy- spaghetti and homemade garlic bread- but Pidge still ate it like it was the best thing they had ever eaten. Lance knew better than to comment on it, because he didn't feel like cleaning spaghetti sauce out of his hair tonight. He had other plans.

He made his way back down the hall, passing both Pidge and Hunks rooms, before reaching his own and pushing open the half-closed door.

Lance's room was eclectic, to say the least. Blue fairy lights were strung across the far wall, bathing the room in a soft blue glow; his bed was a mess, like it usually was, and his laptop was still open and turned on at the foot of it. He had figurines and trinkets on the shelves, a few plants (mostly fake, but some real), and discarded shoes littering the floor.

Sighing, he sat at the desk on one side of his room, staring up at the posters that decorated almost that entire half of the wall. Space posters, mostly, but a few music and video game posters broke up the NASA cluster. Taped in front of them, clustered all in front of his desk, were a series of polaroid photos- him and his friends, him and his family, a few of different places he had visited, and a couple of particularly cool drawings his soulmate had done.

Lance and his soulmate didn't really talk. They hadn't for awhile. At least, not like most people did. Occasionally they had small conversations, but nothing that was really extraordinary. Lance told himself he didn't mind, and on some level he knew that Pidge was right when she said he just had to give it time. That didn't stop his disappointment, though.

But, if nothing else, the drawings were comforting. Whoever his soulmate was, they had a very interesting art style, and Lance would never get bored of it. Anytime a new sketch showed up on his arms or his legs or his hands, he would stare at it like it was a painting in the Louvre.

Lance wondered if his soulmate felt the same- if his own doodles brought any comfort to them. The certainty of it, having a soulmate, was scary in itself, but secure. Something that was meant to be- written in the stars.

As he was thinking this, he was reaching for the colored gel pens he kept in a cup on his desk. Lance wasn't the best artist, but he liked to doodle a little bit, and he figured that in the case of his soulmate enjoying the little doodles, he ought to continue them.

A few little stars, colored in with yellow; wandering planets, in a path straight down his forearm, and a sun drawn where his wrist met his hand. He had their solar system memorized, and he colored the planets as correctly as he could manage with his limited pens; some with blue lines, some with red swirls. He knew he got the earth right, at least. He sprinkled in some more stars, and picked out a gold sharpie to dot a few more smaller ones in between everything.

It was made of clean lines and shiny colors; the opposite of the things his soulmate drew. Lance wondered if that meant they were destined to be the 'opposites attract' couple.

When he couldn't think of anything else to add and his arm was successfully covered in a cheery little space scene, he capped all his pens and leaned back in his chair, satisfied with his work.

"Now if only they'd say something to me," Lance whispered, pushing himself away from his desk and standing up from his chair. He would just have to wait.

### Today at 8:57 PM

_[ the mothman and o shit waddup have joined the chat ]_

 

**the mothman** : hey pidge?

**o shit waddup** : yee

**the mothman** : you busy?

**o shit waddup** : am i ever?

**the mothman** : mind if i call you?

**o shit waddup** : of course not

**o shit waddup** : you okay?

 

_[ the mothman has left the chat ]_  
_[ o shit waddup has left the chat ]_

 

The dog was asleep on his stomach and his room was almost completely dark, except for the very dim light coming from his laptop.

Keith set the ringing phone on his chest after hitting the speakerphone button, and he held his arm up above his head, staring at his forearm. He had been staring at it for hours now, ever since he had felt the little hum on his skin that meant he was getting another soulmark. The puppy had been very interested then, at the colors sprawling out across his forearm, taking the shape of planets and stars the sun.

Pidge answered the phone after two rings. "Everything alright Kogane?"

Keith huffed and let his arm fall, draping it over his eyes. "Objectively? Yes."

"Mm. I know that tone," Pidge sighed, "talk to me."

Keith paused for a moment. "I'm not... a bad person for not talking to him, right?" He chewed on his bottom lip. "My soulmate, I mean."

He could almost feel Pidge frown through the phone. "No," they answered, "I don't think that makes you a bad person. But, I also know the reasons you aren't talking to them, and they make sense to me."

Keith sighed again.

Pidge shifted, the phone making crackling noises as they did. "You could always try talking to them a little bit. Nothing serious, no commitment or anything yet. Maybe that would make you less anxious?" They offered it up as more of a question than anything.

"I don't know," Keith groaned, pulling his arm away from his face and staring up at the dark ceiling. "Would that be like... sending mixed signals?" Keith didn't want to make everything messy, mix it all up and give false hope for something he wasn't sure about.

"I doubt he would see it that way," Pidge said, "I think he's just be glad to talk to you. Even if its trivial."

"I'll..." Keith hesitated. "I'll consider it."

"It's up to you," Pidge soothed, "if you don't want to, then don't."

They were both quiet for nearly a full two minutes, each waiting for the other to say something. But Keith couldn't think of anything to say. He held his arm up again, his eyes tracing the lines of the planets and the rays of the sun that he had already memorized over the last few hours.

"Hey," Pidge broke the silence, "wanna rabbit an alien documentary with me?"

Keith almost cracked a smile. He dropped his arm, running his fingers through his hair, before he began sitting up- he had to very gently cradle the puppy and move him off to the side to grab his laptop and pull it towards him.

"Load it up," he finally answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry these chapters are kind of going to be slow paced- it'll pick up in the next one!  
> i also hope that the transitions between the group chat stuff and the actual writing (in phone calls & real life stuff) isnt too awkward?

**Author's Note:**

> honestly listen this is just self indulgent and combines two of my favorite tropes: group chat shenanigans and the one particular soulmate AU that i am absolutely weak for.
> 
> you can also find this story & a bunch of other stuff ive written on my tumblr and my wattpad.   
> my strictly klance tumblr is @rogue-et-blue, but my main is @ferelden-fuckery  
> my wattpad is @greenmouth-


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